More than a day after the fatal shooting at the Columbia Mall, those who witnessed the tragic event are coming forward with their stories. 11 News reporter Don Champion spoke to one woman who was going up an escalator feet from the store when the shooting began.

CONTINUE TO WORK THROUGH. TONIGHT AND IN THE DAYS AHEAD. SO AS WE LEARN MORE ABOUT THE SUSPECTED SHOOTER AND THE TWO VICTIMS, THE PEOPLE WHO WITNESSED THE TRAGIC SHOOT ARE COMING FORWARD. DON CHAMPION SPOKE TO ONE OF THEM TONIGHT AND HE HAS HER STORY FOR US FROM THE NEWSROOM. DEB, THE WOMAN WE SPOKE WITH WAS JUST GOING UP AN ESCALATOR WHEN THE SHOOTING HAPPENED. SHE HAD BEEN ON THE SEARCH FOR NEW BOOTS, BUT IN A MATTER OF SECONDS SHE FOUND HERSELF DESPERATELY SEARCHING FOR SAFETY. IT WAS JUST A HORRIFIC SCENE, SO I JUST PRAYED, I'M LIKE, GOD, PLEASE HELP ME. THEY ARE FLASHBACKS. AND IT WAS THIS PAW POW, AND I REALIZE IT IT WAS A SHOOTING. IT WAS LIKE A WAR ZONE, TO SEE SOMETHING LIKE THAT HAPPEN RIGHT BEFORE YOUR EYES. AND I'M GRATEFUL TO GOD THAT NONE OF THOSE BULLETS HIT ME. ELLIS WAS INSIDE THE MALL GOING UP AN ESCALATOR WHEN SHE HEARD THE FURS GUNSHOTS FROM THE STORE FEET AWAY FROM HER. AS I SAW GLASS SHATTER, I SAW SOMEONE FALL, AND PEOPLE JUST STARTED SCRAMBLING. THAT'S WHEN SHE REMEMBERS SCRAMBLING TOO, SEEKING SHELTER INSIDE A NEARBY SPENCER'S STORY. I TRIED TO FIND COVER, AND I FOUND COVER IN THAT STORE, SO I JUST PRAYED, A LIKE, GOD, PLEASE HELP ME, AND I WAS JUST PRAYING TO JESUS TO KEEP ME. A JEURT GUARD EVENTUALLY LED HER AND A STORE CLERK INTO A CLOSET UNTIL POLICE CAME TO THEIR RESCUE. WE SHOWED HER A PICTURE OF THE GUNMAN, SHE DOESN'T REMEMBER SEEING HIM BEFORE THE SHOOTING. BUT LIKE MANY OTHERS NOW, FINDS HERSELF ASKING THE QUESTION, WHY. TROUBLE GOES ANYWHERE, DOESN'T HAVE AN ADDRESS. PEOPLE ARE JUST EVIL, AND MEAN. I LOOKED AT THE NEWS LAST NIGHT, AND I WAS THINKING, YEAH, THIS IS REALLY REALLY BAD. ELLIS SAYS SHE TRIED CALLING 911 IN THE CLOSET WHILE SHE AND THE OTHERS HID, BUT COULD NOT GET THROUGH. THE EXPERIENCE WAS ENOUGH TO MAKE HER BREAK DOWN YESTERDAY. A FREQUENT SHOPPER, SHE SAYS FOR NOW SHE'LL BE SHOPPING ONLINE